203 Carat Star Sapphire

This large blue Star Sapphire was brought to me for re-cutting because, even
though it was a very large and fine stone, it was not cut very well by
the cutting shop in the country where it was originally cut.

Before I started working on it, the shape of the stone was like that of a lumpy potato. The uneven shape meant that the star did not move smoothly over the surface of the cabochon. Instead it would jerk around unevenly. Re-shaping it into a nice symmetrical shape would solve that problem.

The stone was over 200 carats and it was very important to the
jeweler that the stone remain over 200 carats after cutting. To be sure
of this, I would perform some work on the stone and then weigh it every
few minutes in order to monitor the rate of weight loss and keep the
weight loss to a very minimum. The finished weight was 203 carats.
During the cutting process care also needed to be taken so as to not
adversely affect the star. This stone was later shown by the jeweler to
a well known celebrity.

Finished Star Sapphire

The gem dealer is holding the finished Star Sapphire. As you can see, it is as large as a small egg.